


cruelty wins in the movies

by the_jennster



Series: i say i don't want that (but what if i do) [3]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Fall of Beacon (RWBY), Gen, I'm just getting started, Injury Recovery, Local Anemic Is Not Here For This Shit, Magic saves the day, Moreso than there is already, Near Death Experiences, New chapter whenever my friends make me sad, Original Character-centric, Original Queer Character of Color, Other, POV Original Character, Past Character Death, Post-Volume 7 (RWBY), Spoilers: Volume 7 (RWBY), VIDAL PRINCEX WOULD DIE FOR OSCAR PINE, eventual angst, in fact they almost did
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:40:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27407455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_jennster/pseuds/the_jennster
Summary: Even still, they didn't regret a second of it. Not if it meant that they would end up here, protecting this boy that meant the world-- no, more, because there hasn't been a single day where Vidal would choose the world over Oscar Pine, not with his heart and his wit and his smile that sent the shadows in their mind fleeing.Oscar Pine was more than some old wizard's new suit.Decisions have consequences but Vidal doesn't regret theirs for one moment.
Relationships: Original Characters & Original Characters, Oscar Pine & Original Character(s)
Series: i say i don't want that (but what if i do) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2002288
Comments: 7
Kudos: 7
Collections: The Adventures of Team NAVE





	cruelty wins in the movies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ShadowSnowdapple](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowSnowdapple/gifts), [GeraldTheFabulousGiraffe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeraldTheFabulousGiraffe/gifts), [kineticallyanywhere](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kineticallyanywhere/gifts), [stainedglassbirds](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stainedglassbirds/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Soul of Love and Bravery](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24425746) by [ShadowSnowdapple](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowSnowdapple/pseuds/ShadowSnowdapple). 
  * Inspired by [wounds we can’t see (still leave a scar)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27403663) by [GeraldTheFabulousGiraffe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeraldTheFabulousGiraffe/pseuds/GeraldTheFabulousGiraffe). 
  * Inspired by [when icarus was pulled under](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27393277) by [GeraldTheFabulousGiraffe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeraldTheFabulousGiraffe/pseuds/GeraldTheFabulousGiraffe). 



> TWICE IN ONE DAY IT'S A SPITE-FUELLED MIRACLE  
> Once again you can thank [Gerald](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeraldTheFabulousGiraffe/pseuds/GeraldTheFabulousGiraffe) for this because O W, but you can also thank [Kin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kineticallyanywhere) for what this will gradually shape up to be (not to say that we've talked a lot about the potential of Vidal's trauma from the Fall of Beacon being good manipulation fodder should Salem ever get their hands on them but,,,, Nobody Is Safe)
> 
> Warning that this chapter does include references to a lost pregnancy, specifically a violent one that also resulted in the death of the mother, so be sure to take care of yourself, yo.

The first thing they felt was  _ cold _ .

The first thing they thought was that Lori must be freezing.

The second thing they thought was that they should probably give Lori their jacket.

The third thing they thought? Was that Lori wasn’t there. 

Neither was Blue. Neither was Jasper. Neither was--

“Oscar,” they croaked out, voice weak from… What happened? A shaking hand traveled to the ache in their chest, numbed by the cold but there nonetheless. There were holes in their dress, raw-edged and, if the soot on their fingertips is anything to go by, burned.

_ Someone shot me _ , they realized, but there was too much fog in their head and ice on their skin to make sense of who, why, and when. They couldn’t even sit up, just leaning their head from side-to-side with all the speed of a sluggish turtle.

“Oscar.” They could barely hear their own voice, so they didn’t know why he’d be able to hear them, but they couldn’t just  _ stop _ . Oscar was…

Oscar was shot.

Except, no, that was  _ them _ .

The answers began to form in their addled mind.

_ I took a bullet meant for Oscar. _

There’s a quiet part of them that hummed  _ Good _ , and it sounded like their father, but they forced themself to ignore it, stretching a hand out for Oscar, their swords,  _ anything _ .

There’s a groan nearby, small and familiar, and their heart sped up. “Oscar!” they repeated, following the sound. “Oscar, please--”  _ Please don’t be dead, I can’t lose another-- _

“Vidal?” His voice is muffled by snow-- either he’s in a snowbank or they are-- but he’s alive enough to speak, and the important thing is that he’s  _ alive _ .

“Yeah.” They can feel the toll of it on their body--  _ Running, the panic, the fatigue that had already set into their bones hours before _ \-- so the simple word is about the most that they can muster.

There's silence for a moment, both of them temporarily satisfied by the knowledge that they're  _ alive _ , until Oscar quietly asked "What do we do now?"

It's a question Vidal had been asking themself their entire life, one way or another.

When they weren't allowed to go outside, when they realized there was nothing they could do about their illness, when they decided to become a huntsman. When Diana…

"I don't know," they quietly admitted. They'd developed a habit for forming plans at Blue's side, but without him, it felt impossible to even make themself get up-- even more so to think beyond the frozen ice they knew stretches for miles around them. But impossible has always been their expectation, so why stop now?

"Can you see Mantle?" If they could get to the city, even with the chaos going on, it would be much easier than freezing to death. Their limbs were heavy but they dragged them out of the snow regardless, using up what was left of their effort to sit up.

They knew it before Oscar even answered the question.

"No." He sat a few feet away, arms crossed around him in a bowl of snow, cane lying at his feet. "We're at a mine, I can't see anything beyond the mountains." If Vidal's memory could be served (and, in all honesty, it often couldn't), the closest mountains to Mantle were on the other side of the tundra-- the very reason that team RWBY and their friends had been forced to ride via transport for their underground missions, and even then, it had taken hours.

They didn't want to think about how long it would take  _ walking _ .

"What about Atlas?" They could see now, but they remembered what Blue had taught them after the Fall of Beacon-- sometimes the best thing you could do for yourself was to think things through out loud. They formed plans better that way, sorted out disagreements, hatched schemes, and apparently it worked for processing trauma as well, as they'd learned firsthand only a year or so before.

"It's… not good." Oscar wasn't wrong in that assessment-- the floating city was a speck in the cloudy sky, but it was a speck surrounded by angry thunderheads and a red-black  _ thing _ that could only be some new twisted form of Grimm.

The thunder roiling in the distance made them miss Jasper, who was hopefully safe aboard an airship and getting as far away from this clusterfuck as they could, along with the rest of the team and the kids.

Though, knowing their team, there was just a high a likelihood that they were in Atlas now, causing trouble for that bastard Ironwood--

_ Ironwood. _

Now they remembered. Remembered  _ properly. _

Anger boiled within them, seeping and seething like it hadn't since they were young, since they were Ruby's age and learning to live with their family's contempt.

Again, Blue's voice in their mind, reminding them to breathe, remember what was important, and focus on the positives.

Well, their breathing was ragged from falling from an impossible height, the important thing was  _ Oscar _ , and the positive was that they were still alive to wring Ironwood's neck.

But first… they had to get Oscar to safety.

With a bit more mobility, they looked around, asking the question out of instinct. "Nearest mine entrance?"

"There." Oscar's orange-gloved fingers pointed towards a dark smudge on the side of a nearby mountain wall, farther away than Vidal felt comfortable considering their current limits, but it was what they had to work with.

Groaning with the effort of standing, they waved Oscar on. "Meet me there, okay? I'll catch up."

"What?" And suddenly he was there, hand clasping theirs, warmer than Vidal had expected considering their situation, helping them stand upright. "I'm not leaving you."

"Kid, I'm slow." The words were likely the bluntest they'd ever put it, and they resisted the urge to flinch at how similar to their father they sounded. "I was wiped before I got to you, and then I got fu--  _ freaking shot. _ And then we fell Gods-knows-how-far, somehow survived, and were unconscious for an unknown period of time." There was a note of resigned melancholy as they added "My body just isn't built for this stuff."

"Doesn't matter," he said stubbornly, looping their arm over his shoulder and pressing his cane into their other hand for support. "You're stuck with me now."

They huffed a laugh at how familiar the words were and let the boy lead.

The warmth of the mineshaft was minimal at best, but leaning against the dirt and rock wall was a relief for Vidal's aching body. Their anemia got the better of them more often than they liked to admit, but here in the desolate cold, it felt like their entire body was screaming at them to stop, as opposed to just their usual exhaustion.

"How did we even end up out here?" they asked aloud, looking out at the snowy landscape. "Last I checked, Atlas floated directly above Mantle, right? We should've just landed in the city."  _ That _ would have hurt like a bitch, though this impact should have as well. They cursed the fact that their mind had gone blank immediately after the bullet hit their chest.

Beside them, Oscar folded tighter in on himself, nosing into their side and humming something that almost sounded like words.

A growl echoed around them-- though whether it came from the monstrous Grimm perched at Atlas's side or from the depths of the mineshaft, they couldn't tell. They were the only human of their entire team and had always relied on Lori and the others to let them know if there was something creeping through the dark towards them.

The absence of their teammates was like missing a limb.

"We've gotta get back," they muttered to themself, prompting more humming from Oscar. They pulled away from him slightly, meeting his two-tone hazel eyes. "What's up, kid?"

There was guilt in there, they knew that look as well as they knew their own face, but it felt so  _ wrong _ for Oscar to be wearing it. He was a  _ child _ \-- not even sixteen years old and burdened with the responsibility of saving the world, all thanks to the voice of a dead man in his head.

When Vidal was sixteen, they were forging their weapon with the help of the blacksmith's son and finding out that their feelings for him weren't quite as platonic as they'd thought. They were dreaming of being a huntsman and  _ helping _ people and now, nearly fourteen years later, that help had come at the cost of the woman they loved and their future with her.

Even still, they didn't regret a second of it. Not if it meant that they would end up  _ here _ , protecting this boy that meant the world-- no,  _ more _ , because there hasn't been a single day where Vidal would choose the world over Oscar Pine, not with his heart and his wit and his smile that sent the shadows in their mind fleeing.

Oscar Pine was more than some old wizard's new suit, he…

He was the closest thing to the child they never got to have. Not when Diana had told them she was pregnant minutes before being killed during the Fall of Beacon, not when those few minutes had given them a dream they never thought they were allowed to have. A  _ family _ . Their years at Haven Academy had given them a family outside of blood, but this? This brief, gleaming hope that there would one day be a bouncing child with Diana's smile and their eyes, a child that was  _ proof _ to the fact that they were loved and wanted and  _ needed _ ?

They'd piled a lot of expectations onto an unborn child, but in their defense, they'd had nearly two years to think about everything their family had meant to them-- the one they'd been born into, the one they'd found, the one they'd lost the chance to build.

And Oscar? Oscar was a part of their family now, like it or not.

He was stuck with them now, them and the rest of their team.

Regardless of what he said next, they wouldn't be leaving him behind.

"I'm the reason why we're so far from Mantle," he admitted quietly, eyes downcast. "I… I used magic."

Vidal had seen… a  _ lot _ of things in their life. They remembered the first time they saw the mainland and were baffled by the fact that people didn't know  _ everybody _ . They remembered the first time they saw the  _ city _ , Haven's stacks upon stacks upon stacks of marketplaces and buildings and that  _ school _ . They remembered the feeling of awe every time they arrived at a new city, because it was always so new and different and utterly alien to them-- and they  _ loved _ it. Traveling had been their passion after graduation, hopping around the globe and following the Vytal Arena from place to place for some semblance of a plan. They'd been planning to travel more after the last Vytal Festival, and they  _ did _ get their wish, though it wasn't exactly as planned.

They also remembered when Oscar told them and the rest of their team about Ozpin-- a man most of them had only known by reputation alone (Blue was the notable exception, having run a few errands for Headmaster Lionheart when they were in the academy, and occasionally crossing paths with his idol). The revelation that the legendary headmaster's ghost, and the lives of hundreds of others, lived on inside this boy had been… shocking, to say the least. But fundamentally, it hadn't changed anything. Oscar was still Oscar, he just had some… added life experience. It was just like a weird semblance, where instead of conjuring winds like Jasper, boomeranging things like Blue, or bringing drawings to life like Vidal, he just spoke to dead people.

But… magic.

Real, honest-to-Gods  _ magic. _

Magic strong enough to not only cushion their fall on the plummet from the base of Atlas' floating citadel, but land them  _ all the way across the crater _ .

It was, suffice to say, a struggle to wrap their head around.

They certainly couldn't deny the effects, because there was no way in hell that little Oscar had been able to carry their unconscious body this far from Mantle without leaving any tracks in the amount of time between their being shot and waking up, but…

For some reason, it still felt  _ impossible. _

They should've known by now that impossible was just another kind of possible.

"Run it by me again?" they asked, frowning up at the ceiling of the mineshaft, arms crossed beneath their head. It had started to grow dark out here, and they'd used what little aura they had to draw up a small fire. The warmth was meager, and it had exhausted them, but they stayed awake if only to try and figure out  _ how. _

Oscar was curled up by their side, his third or fourth rendition of his miraculous discovery muffled by Vidal's side. "We were falling and I was panicking, and the next thing I knew, I heard Ozpin talking to me." This piece of information alone was curious because Ozpin had been decidedly unchatty since they'd discovered his sordid past with Salem. Vidal, much like the rest of team NAVE, hadn't seen the big deal-- the man had a shitty ex, didn't they all?-- but the others they'd been traveling with, Beacon students tasked with this impossible quest by Ozpin prior to his death-and-reincarnation, hadn't taken it well. Oscar had been caught in the crossfire a few times and with Blue being the closest thing the party had to an adult (Qrow Branden didn't count until recently-- even if Vidal hadn't spent several months hearing tales of his endeavors from their girlfriend, the man was a depressing drunk and his youngest niece Ruby was often left to pick up his messes. Vidal knew firsthand that drinking yourself into a stupor helped no one, least of all yourself, but most of all the people you loved. They often imagined that if it hadn't been for Blue dragging them out their Vale apartment, they would still be there, drinking away.), that nonsense was shut down quickly, admittedly with a bit of help from Vidal themself.

It was one thing to conceptually  _ know _ that they weren't the only one to lose loved ones on that fateful night, but another to see the same anger they felt in a twenty-year-old boy. They hadn't talked to Jaune about who it was that he'd lost-- that was a conversation for another night, a night when they could honor the ones they loved instead of disgracing them-- but they had reminded him that it hadn't been Oscar's fault-- hell, it wasn't even  _ Ozpin's. _ The only people at fault for the deaths that night were the monsters who'd lured the Grimm to the stadium. Those were the words they reminded themself of every night, because if they didn't, they turned right back into a drunken mess like Qrow or misguided anger like Jaune.

"I-- I don't really remember what he said," Oscar continued. "But I knew what I had to do. When I grabbed the cane, it just-- it lit up, and there was this ball of energy around us, and we crashed through the base of Atlas." He curled in on himself further, ashamed of the next part. "I kind of lost track of where we went, though, because everything was moving so fast, especially with the storm."

So there it was. Oscar had used a magical hamster ball to slingshot them across a frozen tundra.

It made absolute perfect sense.


End file.
